This invention relates to an exercise device, and more particularly to a resilient exercise device permitting in place exercising.
With a continuous increased awareness of the importance of exercising, numerous exercising devices are readily available to provide assistance in carrying out various exercises. One of the most popular types of exercices is that of jogging. However, normally, jogging requires a large area or track, and in most cases this exercise must be done on the outside. As a result, many people are prevented from jogging because of the lack of suitable outdoor facilities. In order to alleviate this situation, many types of indoor jogging apparatus are available to permit jogging in place so as to permit indoor jogging. For example, mechanized treadmills and the like are readily available.
Most of the apparatus utilized for jogging are quite costly, cumbersome, and are not very convenient. For example, some of these devices have a flat surface on which the individual runs or jumps. The running or jumping is usually quite noisy thereby causing a disturbance to those around the jogger. Also, because of the flat surface, there is a hard impact on the bottom of the feet of the jogger. Additionally, when jogging outside on a terrain other than a flat hard surface, the ground is uneven. This uneven ground actually benefits the jogger since it requires greater exertion due to the shifting of the center of gravity of the body and the constant muscular action necessary to maintain body balance. However, most indoor jogging apparatus are of the flat surface type and thereby avoid the benefits available from jogging on an uneven ground surface.
Accordingly, it would be convenient to have an exercising device which can be utilized for indoor jogging, walking, or jumping in place, and which would avoid or reduce the pounding impact noise to thereby eliminate the disturbance to others. At the same time, the device should be resilient to avoid the hard impact of the jumping exercising to thereby soften the blow to the feet of the jogger. Also, it would be convenient to provide a flexible surface which simulates the uneven terrain of an outside jogging track to thereby provide increased use of the jogger's muscles.
Additionally, many types of exercising devices are dedicated to one particular type of exercise. When one wants to vary the types of exercises, he must use many separate and independent pieces of equipment. This results in a costly situation as well as a space problem since each of these devices must occupy a separate part of a gym or other exercise room.
It would therefore also be convenient to have an exercise device which in addition to providing the benefits of indoor jogging and the like, can also be utilized to accommodate other pieces of exercising equiment to thereby effectively produce an exercising device having broader capabilities than a simple jogging apparatus.